The student pathway: from Korean exchange student to permanent resident

I first came to Melbourne as an exchange student from Seoul when I was 21. I spent one semester at Monash University and fell in love with the city. When I went back to Korea to finish my degree in information technology, I knew I wanted to return.

After graduating from Korea University, I applied for a Subclass 500 student visa to do a Master of IT at the University of Melbourne. The application required proof of English proficiency (I used IELTS, scoring 6.5 overall), evidence of financial capacity, and a genuine temporary entrant statement. That last part felt strange because I knew I wanted to stay permanently, but the statement is about your circumstances, not your hopes.

Student life in Melbourne was a mix of excitement and financial pressure. Tuition fees were substantial, and although my part-time job at a Korean restaurant in the CBD helped, I had to budget carefully. I shared a flat in Carlton with three other students, which kept rent manageable. The university campus was walking distance, and I spent most of my time in the library or at hackathons.

I graduated with a distinction average and immediately applied for the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa. This gave me 18 months (now extended to two years for master's graduates) to work full-time in Australia and gain the experience needed for a skilled visa. Finding a graduate IT role was competitive. I sent out dozens of applications before landing a position as a junior developer at a consultancy in Docklands.

The 485 period was crucial. I needed to accumulate work experience, maintain my skills, and build my points score for the 189. I also retook the PTE Academic to improve my English score, which added points. Every extra point mattered.

During this time, I also applied for a skills assessment through the ACS. The process required detailed documentation of my qualifications and work experience. ACS deducted two years from my experience for the skills assessment (a common practice for ICT occupations), which meant I barely met the minimum.

I lodged my Expression of Interest for the 189 visa with 80 points. The invitation came after three months. Between gathering documents, completing health checks, and waiting for processing, another eight months passed before the visa was granted.

The day I received the grant notice was one of the happiest of my life. Seven years after I first arrived as an exchange student, I was a permanent resident.

Throughout this journey, the Korean community in Melbourne was a constant support. There are Korean churches, community centres, and social groups across the city. I lived in various suburbs over the years: Carlton, Box Hill, Glen Waverley. Each had its own Korean presence. But I also built strong friendships with Australians and people from other countries through work and through a basketball competition I played in.

The things I wish I had known when I started: the student pathway is long. You need patience, financial reserves, and a willingness to work hard in jobs that might feel beneath your qualifications while you build experience. Many Korean students I knew gave up partway through and returned home. The ones who stayed generally thrived.

I also wish I had understood the points system earlier. Every decision I made during my studies, which degree to pursue, which English test to take, where to live, affected my eventual visa application. Planning ahead would have saved me stress.

Today, I am a senior software developer at a tech company in South Melbourne. I own a small apartment in Richmond. I still miss Korean food (Melbourne has good Korean restaurants, but nothing matches Seoul), and I miss my family. But professionally and personally, moving to Australia was the right choice. The student pathway is not fast, but it works.